The case for Kentucky

For the second year in a row, Kentucky heads into the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 overall seed. Although they are the fifth youngest team in the nation, the Wildcats boast an impressive 32-2 record, including a 16-0 mark in regular season SEC play.

Led by the nation’s leading shot-blocker, freshman Anthony Davis, Kentucky looks to return to the Final Four, where last year it lost to national champion Connecticut. Davis—recently named the SEC defensive player of the year, freshman of the year and overall player of the year—anchors one of the most effective defensive teams in the country. Fellow freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a second team All-American, also stabilizes the Wildcat defense and maintains a double-digit scoring average.

Despite starting three freshmen and two sophomores, Kentucky is one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country, shooting almost 50 percent from the field. Sophomore Doron Lamb provides the Wildcats’ only real threat from the outside, shooting 45.7 percent from 3-point range. Kentucky’s other sophomore starter, power forward Terrence Jones, scores in double figures and pulls down seven rebounds per game. Freshman point guard Marcus Teague, who averages almost five assists per game and rarely turns the ball over, rounds out the Wildcats’ starting five.

Kentucky’s best presence off the bench is senior Darius Miller, one of the few Wildcats in the John Calipari era to finish out a four-year career in Lexington. But as physical and talented as Kentucky’s six-man rotation is, they are lacking in depth—the team’s only noticable flaw. The Wildcats do not have a deep roster to support their bevy of superstars, but that will not affect their gameplay in the postseason.

Even with its lack of depth, Kentucky rarely gets into serious foul trouble and has not shown signs of fatigue during the season. While some critics think that the Wildcats might be out of breath before the end of March, Kentucky’s 30 regular season wins prove otherwise.

Kentucky’s only two losses on the year were by a combined eight points, including a loss at Indiana on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Wildcats have dominated top competition all year long, with wins over Kansas, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Louisville and Florida three times. To reach the Elite Eight, Kentucky will most likely have to defeat either Baylor or Duke, but after the impressive regular season put together by its slew of future NBA draftees, the Wildcats are the team to beat in this year’s NCAA tournament.